Firearm theft solved with four-year-old print
Zane William Jinson, 26, of Fredericton, was linked to 2017 break-in when evidence found at scene was linked to him in 2021
A case of a 2017 break-in during which several firearms were stolen was solved four years later when a lone fingerprint was tied to the perpetrator, a court heard Thursday.
Zane William Jinson, 26, of Gabe Acquin Drive in Fredericton, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a charge of break, enter and theft that occurred between March 14-18, 2017, and he was back in Fredericton provincial court for sentencing Thursday.
Crown prosecutor Gwynne Hearn said Fredericton police were dispatched to an apartment complex at 1019 Brookside Dr. the afternoon of March 18, 2017, after receiving a report of a break-in.
She said Kevin Vienneau had gone to his storage unit in the basement of the building and discovered something was amiss.
“He noticed the door was pried open,” the prosecutor said, noting Vienneau kept several firearms in a locked cabinet in the unit. “The guns were gone.”
The investigating officer called in the police force’s forensic identification unit, court heard, and an officer found a lone, usable fingerprint.
However, a check through the system didn’t turn up any results, Hearn said – until four years later.
She said the force’s forensic identification unit contacted a detective June 16, 2021, to inform him that the print had since been connected to a suspect: Jinson.
The investigation revealed Jinson had lived at 1021 Brookside Dr. back in 2017, the prosecutor said.
“He turned himself in voluntarily,” Hearn said, noting he was co-operative with the police.
While Jinson presented with a prior criminal record Thursday, the prosecutor noted that in 2017, he had no criminal convictions.
“Mr. Jinson was 20 years old at the time so he was a youthful offender,” she said.
It was as a result of Jinson’s later criminal convictions that his fingerprints were entered into a criminal database, which is why the fingerprint didn’t turn up in the system in 2017.
Defence lawyer Edward Derrah said this was his first case involving a conviction stemming from fingerprint evidence in which the offender had a legitimate connection to the crime scene.
Court heard Jinson had cause to be in 1019 Brookside Dr. as he’d done some maintenance work that would have brought him into the area of the storage units.
Derrah said that means there was a potential defence available to Jinson, which the court should consider in sentencing.
“It could’ve been a difficult trial,” Hearn acknowledged.
That’s why the prosecution and defence offered a joint recommendation on sentence of a six-month conditional sentence, to be served in the community.
Rather than house arrest, the prosecutor said, the parties were seeking a curfew of 10 p.m.-5 a.m. as a primary condition, as well as requirements to have no contact with Vienneau, to stay away from 1019 Brookside Dr. and to participate in counselling as directed.
Hearn asked for the conditional sentence to be followed by six months of probation, with the same conditions save for the curfew.
Derrah said Jinson got into a bit of trouble in the years since the break-in, but he’s straightened out. He’s now in a stable relationship and has two small children, the defence lawyer said.
Jinson apologized for his actions and noted he hasn’t done hard drugs in two years or more.
Judge Mary Jane Richards accepted the joint recommendation given the circumstances, imposing the six-month conditional sentence with the requested conditions.
She also noted that during the term of that order, he’s to abstain from alcohol and illicit drugs, and allow authorities into his home for compliance checks.
That will be followed by the six-month period of probation with the recommended conditions as well.
The judge also ordered him to pay a $200 victim-fine surcharge.
Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.